Stretchy Fleecy Hoody? Oh Goody.

My first attempt at sewing with knits! This one is made from a stretch knit microfleece. I’m afraid I was completely unable to shake the joy of animal prints ingrained in me by Jungle January, so I lined the hood with blue leopard print fabric. Seemed the obvious choice. I may have an animal print addiction; therapy might be necessary.

I am currently taking the Sewing With Knits class through Craftsy and this is the first project. The pattern is from the class, except for the lining in the hood. I added the lining, by constructing another hood out of the leopard print fabric, a thin knit jersey, and sewing it to the hood.

Because I don’t have a serger / overlocker, I used the stretch stitch on my regular sewing machine (two stitches forward, one stitch back), it takes a long time and uses a lot of thread, but I think it looks better than a narrow zig-zag. I also used an overlock stitch on the exposed seams on the hood and lining and a twin needle for the sleeve and bottom hems.

Hi Helena, it’s true, knits definitely have a different feel than wovens and seemed to come together very well. And I love wearing them. But the stretch stitch was definitely not fast!

However, shhhh don’t tell anyone, but I believe that my sewing teacher is going to give me her old serger / overlocker next week! The world of knits will definitely expand after that. I’m excited to explore more of sewing with knits. Don’t hesitate to share any advice you may have 🙂

It’s stretchy? I think that mine wasn’t stretchy at all! Maybe I was doing something wrong… Maybe if I use a larger stitch… Don’t know, have to try it again 🙂 sometimes we make silly mistakes 🙂 other day I tried to use elastic thread in my machine but it didn’t sew. Days later I discovered that I have to set to the higher tension and not to the lowest… It’s working now 🙂

Oh very good! I have not tried that elastic thread but did read that you were supposed to wind it on the bobbin by hand.

Yes, the stretch stitch stretched with my fabric when I pulled it. I guess, because it acts almost like a basting stitch in that each is not completely lined up one against the other, since it is going 2 stitches forward and one stitch back. On my machine, it has a picture of 3 straight stitched lines beside one another.

Yes, I think I’m going to enjoy my investigative journey into sewing with knits. Especially if I’m able to get that serger. And, yes, for some reason at my local fabric store, the knits all seem so babyish and/or boyish. Not elegant at all, but have patterns with camouflage, skulls, angels, etc. Not too sure why. Maybe they assume that mostly kids wear knits?

Thanks! It is quite snuggly and soft. (And, yes, it’s minus 11 Celcius today here, brrr). And, I do appear to have been psychologically affected by Jungle January and may need therapy if I am unable to stop purchasing and wearing animal prints :P.

Thanks for the invite! I’m supposed to be getting my sewing teacher’s old serger next week. Hopefully! But, the instructions for how to use it comes only in a VHS tape format (And I don’t have a VHS player) and not in a dvd or a written manual. So, may have to contact you to find out how to set it up, thread it, etc.

Lining the hood–what a great idea! How did you handle the lining at the neck seam?
I took that class as well. I had never sewn with knits before and I found it really helpful! I absolutely agree with you about the zig-zig stitch. I’ll only use it on seams where it won’t show. For top-stitching, I only use the stretch stitch–so much nicer!

Thanks! Yes, in the class, she used the zig-zag stitch for every seam and I really didn’t like the look of it either.

For the neck seam, I used the overlock stitch on my regular sewing machine at the bottom of both the lining and the hood. Then, I sewed them at the same time, together to the bodice piece. So, the seams are exposed (somewhat although your head is in the way), but looks okay due to the overlock stitch. This stitch is not as neat as a serged/overlocked edge. You have to line up your fabric EXACTLY so the line is even and obviously the sewing machine does not cut off the ends. But, it still ended up looking pretty good.

Thanks for explaining! You’re right–you can’t see the seam allowance at all. I thought maybe you’d done something tricky to make it look so professional 🙂 If I make another hoodie, I’ll have to try that!

Yes, give it a try! I just made up how to attach the lining (as it wasn’t part of the pattern or instructions), and this way seemed to work. I’m sure there are other ways to do this, so anybody, please feel free to share your way of adding a hood lining.

It’s pretty good, so far, I’m liking it. I like the number of patterns you get with it, and a separate video for each piece and she gives some good tips.

I did have some trouble with the pdf files though. I could not print out the 2X2 square to the appropriate size and thus, had to guess a bit when lining up the sheets to make the pattern. I couldn’t seem to get any help on the site for the issue. Also, the pattern was missing some notches that she spoke of and used for the hoodie pattern in the video, but they weren’t on the pdf pattern.

And, also a word of warning, the sizing is VERY big. I made the XXS and it was still quite loose and relaxed fitting.

Thanks so much! Yes, go forth and multiply knits, for sure. I think I may enjoy the knits thing. Especially for dresses. I like that flowy feel you get from a soft knit dress. Now, to actually sew one! Feel free to drop by with any tips you may have when you begin sewing yours :).

Your hoodie turned out great and love the contrast it adds… nothing like adding a splash of colour. I learned a lot from this Craftsy class and haven’t feared sewing with knits ever since… actually I’m kind of addicted now LOL

Thank you so much! I know, I love colour and print. And, I’m learning a lot from the craftsy class, and I like the fact that it came with quite a few patterns included. I am fairly confident I will be addicted very shortly. I am finishing up the T-Shirt right now.